Race & Ethnicity News Editor for @AP. ✉️: amorrison (at) ap (dot) org | Adjunct lecturer, @newmarkjschool | DMs open. RTs ≠ endorsements. He/him.
New York, NY
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COVID arrives.
Kobe.
Botched pandemic response.
Economic fallout.
Breonna Taylor, Ahmaud Arbery, George Floyd, Rayshard Brooks.
The reckoning.
Congressman Lewis.
Chadwick Boseman.
RBG.
2020 has been relentless.
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Just think: John Lewis was months into his battle with cancer when this photograph was taken, this year on the bridge where he marched, bled and suffered for our voting rights. (The coronavirus was already spreading in the U.S.) This man risked his life until the very end.
We were beaten, we were tear-gassed. I thought I was going to die on this bridge. But somehow and some way, God almighty helped me here. We cannot give up now. We cannot give in. We must keep the faith, keep our eyes on the prize.
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Several musicians and actors have just arrived at the #GeorgeFloydMemorial. They include rappers T.I. (with his wife Tiny) and Ludacris, Tyrese Gibson, Kevin Hart, Tiffany Haddish, Will Packer and Marsai Martin.
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BREAKING: Prosecutor announces that use of force against #PhilandoCastile was not justified. Jeronimo Yanez charged with manslaughter.
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Remember the Emanuel Nine, massacred five years ago today in Charleston, South Carolina.
The Rev. Clementa Pinckney, Cynthia Graham Hurd, Susie Jakcson, Ethel Lance, the Rev. Depayne Middleton-Doctor, Tywanza Sanders, Daniel Simmons, Sharonda Coleman-Singleton and Myra Thompson.
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POWERFUL 11-year-old Naomi Wadler of Alexandria, Va: “I’m here today to represent the African-American girls [killed by gun violence] who don’t always make the front pages of the newspapers.” #MarchForOurLives #NeverAgain
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She'll be the first woman, first person of color and first international citizen to lead the AP in its 175 years.
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I’ve got some 💫 professional news 💫 … majorly excited to lead race news coverage for the @AP! And I will be hiring — details on that soon.
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Now up, the former First Lady, @MichelleObama. She says, "Who we choose as our president in this election will determine" whether the sacrifices and pain of those who came before was not in vain. #DemocraticConvention
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JUST IN: US District Court of South Carolina says #DylannRoof declared competent to stand trial for hate crimes. Jury selection starts Mon.
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I find it increasingly infuriating that people will “debate” whether a Black person deserved to die at the hands of the state. I’m finding it hard to get over the dehumanizing aspect, to dissect this tape like it’s a sports highlight reel. #RayshardBrooks
The police killing of Rayshard Brooks, a 27-year-old black man who was being arrested for intoxication at a Wendy's drive-thru in Atlanta, is hotly debated by law enforcement experts and others. apne.ws/aKxnYza
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Members of Congress, including Rep. Ilhan Omar, Rep. Sheila Jackson-Lee, Rep. Ayana Pressley and Rep. Joyce Beatty just took a moment together and prayed over #GeorgeFloyd’s casket. #GeorgeFloydMemorial
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Today marks 5 years since a Cleveland police officer killed 12-year-old #TamirRice as he played in a local park with a toy gun. In 2015, the Cuyahoga County DA announced there would be no indictment or criminal charges against Timothy Loehmann, Tamir’s killer. Remember.
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#BREAKING: ST. LOUIS (AP) _ Prosecutor says no charges will be filed against former police officer who killed Michael Brown in Ferguson, Missouri, after 5-month re-investigation of shooting nearly 6 years later bit.ly/2PnmdZb #MikeBrown #BlackLivesMatter
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As a young black man covering violence — perpetuated by the state and otherwise — there is nothing that reminds me of my mortality more than reading about black men my age dying by gun violence. THIS is why I do the work I do. RIP #NipseyHussle.
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Lots of debate about how to identify @KamalaHarris racially. But if we just listen to her, we don’t have to debate.
Biden served alongside the first Black president, she said, “and has chosen the first Black woman as his running mate."
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Marchers are gathering at Bryant Park for the People's Silent Protest Art Walk to commemorate the @NAACP's 1917 parade 100 years ago today.
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This is at Hiawatha Ave and Lake Street. Police have started firing flash bang grenades, rubber bullets and smoke bombs. #GeorgeFloyd
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100 years ago today, black New Yorkers answered the @NAACP's call to protest lynching and anti-black violence. mic.com/articles/182961/100-…
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Y’all! Sasha probably has to be at school early in the morning. It is a school night. #ObamaFarewell
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Rev. Sharpton asked attendees to observe an 8 min and 46 second long moment of silence — the time that Officer Derek Chauvin had his knee pressed into George Floyd’s neck. Gwen Carr, the mother of Eric Garner, and actress Tiffany Haddish joined him on stage. #GeorgeFloydMemorial
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Today, the @NAACP announced it is prepared to sue @jeffsessions and @TheJusticeDept over attempts to re-litigate police consent decrees.
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Q: Why should voters trust you on issues of race?
Biden: “It’s about equity and equality. it’s about the Constitution. … We’ve never accomplished it, we’ve never walked away from it, like he (Trump) has.” #Debates2020
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This weekend, people in Tulsa, Oklahoma began marking a grim milestone: 100 years since a murderous white mob razed a Black paradise — the Greenwood district aka Black Wall Street. (A thread.)
Here’s the @AP’s package on the Tulsa Race Massacre. apnews.com/hub/tulsa-race-ma…
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An @AP profile: Daunte Wright, a doting dad and ballplayer, slain by police apnews.com/article/f70fb7fc4…
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Dope to see this line of women wearing hijab and carrying sign; "Respect my existence or expect my resistance." #WomensMarch
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Little Richard is a one of a kind. There’s no Prince or Michael Jackson — or much of mainstream pop, rock and soul music stylings — without Richard Penniman.
Strong Black Lead
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The 👏🏾 kids 👏🏾 did 👏🏾 not 👏🏾 come 👏🏾 to 👏🏾 play 👏🏾 with 👏🏾 you 👏🏾today! #MarchforOurLives #NeverAgain
"I am here to acknowledge & represent the African-American girls whose stories don't make the front page of every national newspaper, whose stories don't lead on the evening news," says Naomi Wadler, an 11-year-old from Alexandria, Va. cbsn.ws/2pDCfAK #MarchForOurLives
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NEW: The coronavirus has cut such a devastating swath through Black America that, even without comprehensive national data, the disproportionate toll is undeniable, according to a just released @AP analysis. bit.ly/2JSduet
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~ some personal news ~ Ten years ago, I was an @AP intern. Now, I’m headed back there! Truly, it’s a dream come true! I could not be more excited to begin this new journey!
.@AP hires veteran reporters Katrease Stafford (@kat__stafford), Aaron Morrison (@aaronlmorrison) to cover race, join national team: apne.ws/YjZuUHy
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Just ran into @MMFlint on a street near Trump Tower. Said he got in the building and was escorted out. #NotMyPresident
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I’m inside of #GeorgeFloyd’s memorial service for the @AP. Floyd’s golden casket flanked by flowers and a self portrait. The now-iconic mural painted at the site of his arrest is projected above the stage. I’ll be tweeting throughout the service. apnews.com/18c41cd260efeeef6…
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Imagine holding a presidential campaign rally, a “private” event, and having the power to marshal taxpayer-funded police and military that are stationed around fortified gates and keep out counter protesters.
You don’t have to imagine. That’s happening today, in Tulsa.
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An original 1955 warrant in Emmett Till case has been found. Now, his family seeks the arrest of Carolyn Bryant Donham, who accused the 14-year-old Till of making improper advances. (via @AP) apnews.com/article/arrests-m…
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Former VP @JoeBiden begins his nomination speech by quoting Ella Baker, the Black civil and human rights activist. #DemocraticConvention
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The @AP analyzed data on approximately 3,000 instances of police use of force against children under 16 over the past 11 years. Black children made up more than 50% of those who were handled forcibly, though they are only 15% of the U.S. child population. apnews.com/article/death-of-…
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You’re wrong, here. The JURY decided on the death penalty. Some, if not most, of the families opposed giving #DylannRoof death penalty. nitter.app/kkkomedy1942/status/85…
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Police official: 10 rounds fired at a black male holding a pipe in Brooklyn today. Four officers involved. No officers were wearing body cameras. Three plain clothes officers, one in uniform.
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NOW: @AttorneyCrump, standing w/ the parents & extended family of #JacobBlake, opened a press conference in Kenosha, WI saying the shooting was "devastating to his three little boys, who were sitting in the car when the police shot him at point blank range at least seven times."
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Ohio police release video showing officers' fatal shooting of unarmed pregnant Black woman and mother of two Ta'Kiya Young (via @AP) apnews.com/article/pregnant-…
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Gun violence is an urgent problem in this country. But today, we’ll watch a vast majority not label the fatal shootings by militia men and Boogaloo Boys in #Kenosha last night as such. Looking for the same energy/outrage as summer shootings in New York, Chicago and Baltimore.
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As people are (rightly) expressing shock, sadness and outrage over the racist, homophobic attack on Jussie Smollett, it’s time to remind folks that Black ppl accounted for NEARLY HALF of hate crime victims in 2017, per the FBI. We are just 13% of US. bit.ly/2FUwVDD
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Report: 97% of people busted for pot in Albany were Black (from @AP) apnews.com/85ebd6b8a84099470…
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Over here, it didn’t go unnoticed that @JoeBiden and @KamalaHarris walked out to a Curtis Mayfield song.
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Ahead of today's opening statements in the trial of Derek Chauvin, @AttorneyCrump, attorney for the family of George Floyd: "Today starts a landmark trial that will be a referendum on how far America has come..." The Declaration of Independence applies "to Black people, too."
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It's been a month since the siege on the Capitol, which exposed for many Americans the existence of a domestic terror threat. The thing is, there's been a race war raging for much longer than you realize. Hyperbole? Nope.
A thread, and my @AP analysis: apnews.com/article/f8f793b94…
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My @AP dispatch from Brunswick, Ga., where hundreds from across the state attended a rally to demand justice for #AhmaudArbery and accountability for the local justice systems. apnews.com/a09c9c5bc84a214ae…
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Black bodies are not blank sheets of paper on which you get to make errors, rip out of a notebook, ball up and toss in the discard pile. Full stop.
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I’m sorry. This is completely ridiculous. A disservice to the American voter. If this was a metric for the health of our democracy, we’re terminal right now. #Debates2020
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MINNEAPOLIS (AP) — Crews have removed concrete barriers, artwork, flowers and other items from a Minneapolis intersection that became a sprawling memorial to George Floyd, known as "George Floyd Square." (via @AP's @Mohamed1brah1m) bit.ly/3yY7dX2
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An @AP SCOOP from me: In a letter to @HHSGov, Democratic lawmakers call for the collection of racial data in coronavirus testing and treatment, as predominantly Black and Brown infection hotspots emerge across the U.S. bit.ly/33W8EGp
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NEW from me, @AP: "The Tuskegee effect: Amid coronavirus outbreak, black mistrust of medicine and government looms” bit.ly/39LLrIh
A thread. 1/X
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Alex Trebek’s Wardrobe Is Donated to Formerly Incarcerated Men (via @nytimes) nytimes.com/2021/02/18/us/al…
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It’s taken me a couple of days to acknowledge that I am among dozens who lost their job @mic on Thursday. I have nothing but love for my colleagues and pray for favor as we all reorient and move forward.
Got leads on jobs covering news, race, inequality, criminal justice? HMU!
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Yes, my Uncle George was the Minister of Education for the Black Panther Party for Self Defense in Oakland, California. He was not, as Mr. Carlson insinuated, a domestic terrorist. And the BPP was NOT the “Antifa of its time.” My uncle taught English.
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#SandraBland’s mom, Geneva Reed-Veal, would love to hear her daughter play trombone again. bit.ly/2lfwMjD #SayHerName
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In 1st sermon since election, @ReverendWarnock blasts Capitol rioters (via @AP) apnews.com/article/senate-el…
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NEW: “Racial toll of virus grows even starker as more data emerges”
This updates #COVID19 case and death analysis, from my @AP colleagues @kat__stafford, @MeghanHoyer and me. apnews.com/8a3430dd37e7c4429…
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EXCLUSIVE: ‘Strike for Black Lives’ to highlight racism on July 20. Will include walkout by @SEIU, @Teamsters, @AFTunion, @UFWF & @fightfor15 workers in 25 cities. Other strike partners include the @Mvmnt4BlkLives and @UniteThePoor.
A scoop by me, @AP: bit.ly/3faVESd
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~EXCITING NEWS~ This fall, I’ll be an adjunct lecturer, one night a week, at the @newmarkjschool in NYC. I’ll be teaching a brand new course: “Reporting on Race.” I’ve written the syllabus. Watch out! I'm increasing the number of journalists who can cover race responsibly! 🍎👨🏾🏫🍎
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NEW from me, @AP: The race double standard is clear in rioters’ U.S. Capitol insurrection. Lots of folks have talked about it over the last 24 hours. But understanding the why of it is important. Thread. bit.ly/398Nsjn
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NEW: South Florida law school to create a social justice center named for @AttorneyCrump (via @AP) apnews.com/article/ahmaud-ar…
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A local activists tells me there will be an action tomorrow for #SaheedVassell, the unarmed black man shot at 10 times and killed by NYPD today in Crown Heights, Brooklyn. Details: bit.ly/2GzVfvl
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It's been three months since family and friends began saying goodbye to the #AhmaudArbery they knew and loved. Here's my @AP profile of "Maud," for which I spent time in Brunswick, Georgia last weekend. (Photo courtesy: Fuzzy Rabbit Fotos) apnews.com/e8bd9d517200f1de6…
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A statement from @AP staff: We love the AP. We also want it to change. bit.ly/2QMR5Xh
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Just a minute ago, @PeteButtigieg name dropped the #PoorPeoplesCampaign and spoke about poverty, almost in the same breath that he opposed tuition-free college. I’m…confused. #DemDebate
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And just like that… I’m heading to Beijing to write about diversity, culture and other intriguing topics at the Winter Olympics for the @AP. Not sure what my social access will be for the next couple of weeks, but I’ll share when I can. ✈️ ✌🏾🙏🏾
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"Donald Trump is the wrong president for our country. ... He cannot be who we need him to be for us. It is what it is," @MichelleObama said. #DemocraticConvention
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Today marks 52 years since the assassination of the Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. at the Lorraine Motel in Memphis, Tenn.
I'm wondering what kind of moral leadership he'd offer us, amidst a pandemic that is poised to take a disproportionate toll on POC and the impoverished.
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NEW: @AttorneyCrump, for an @AP profile that I co-wrote with @jseewerap, left me with a word I think we all might do well to heed. He says, "You can’t care what the enemies of equality think of you." bit.ly/3vBZDyR
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Represented: #TrayvonMartin #SandraBland #CharleenaLyles #KaliefBrowder #TamirRice #JohnCrawford and many more.
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#BREAKING: BRUNSWICK, Ga. (AP) __Georgia Bureau of Investigation says it has arrested William "Roddie" Bryan, the man who filmed the shooting of #AhmaudArbery, on felony murder charges in Arbery's death.
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In New York, more than a hundred workers (and growing) from several unions have gathered at 61st Street and Central Park West. They’re socially distant. Some have set up at a podium with signs that spell out “Our lives are essential.” (@SenSchumer is also here.)
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Before I boarded my flight to Minneapolis, for the @AP, two things happened that steeled me for the task.
My mother wouldn't let me hang up the phone until she said a word of prayer with me. She understands. And I love her the most.
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NEW: For @AP, I sat down with acclaimed journalist @nhannahjones to reflect on the year. She started 2021 in a protracted tenure fight with her alma mater and closes it as a New York Times bestselling author of two 1619 Project books.
Our conversation: apnews.com/article/639d2841f…
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NEW from me, @AP: U.S. senators urge DOJ and FBI to provide anti-bias police training over mask fears
bit.ly/2ViaKxv
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A small, mostly white Virginia town put up a ‘Black Lives Matter’ banner. Ginni Thomas, wife of SCOTUS justice Clarence Thomas, denounced it. (via @washingtonpost) washingtonpost.com/local/vir…
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I never relish the opportunity to discuss how @TuckerCarlson talks about #BlackLivesMatter, as a movement, or anything related to the humanity of people who exist in Black bodies on this Earth. But here I am.
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J. Charles Jones, the Black civil rights activist who helped lead sit-ins at segregated lunch counters, is dead at 82 (via @nytimes) nytimes.com/2020/01/10/us/j-…
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Again, immigration is a racial justice issue, not just a humanitarian one. Disparate, inhumane treatment based on national origin and race is part of the story.
US Border Patrol agents try to stop Haitian migrants entering an encampment on the banks of the Rio Grande in Del Rio, Texas.
US says it will ramp up deportation flights for migrants flooding into Del Rio as authorities scramble to alleviate a burgeoning crisis
📸Paul Ratje
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SCOOP: Democratic lawmakers sent a letter to @HHSGov today urging them to address the racial disparity we're already seeing in vaccinations. We can't afford to wait any longer for vaccine race data, Rep. @AyannaPressley says.
Via me, @AP. bit.ly/36hJLHy
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Today marks my one year anniversary at the @AP covering race and justice in the U.S.! And yes, it's still a dream job. Grateful to all those who have trusted me to tell their stories. Much MUCH more to come.
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It’s 420. So I decided to be futurist and imagine what this nation of ours would be like if we didn’t jail people for using, possessing and selling kush. bit.ly/2F0LIYw
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Ty-rell and Makke said they were at the #JFK protesting this morning. They said each other's safety and liberty are inextricably linked.
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This "8:46" demonstration at Floyd's Minneapolis memorial service last June brought tears to the eyes of Gwen Carr, the mother of Eric Garner, the first "I can't breathe" case that shook the U.S. in 2014. Actress and comedian Tiffany Haddish, who stood next to her, also wept.
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Another COVID-19 race data scoop from me, @AP: "Democratic bills call for racial breakdown of COVID-19 cases" bit.ly/3ewiB2i
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I just woke up in Brooklyn and watched live as MN state patrolmen handcuffed and arrested @OmarJimenez, a black CNN reporter, who was on air giving updates. I cannot stress to you how nauseating it is to watch this and fear he was about to be harmed. Arrested his crew, too.
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Feds’ first words: "This defendant’s horrific act justifies the death penalty.” #DylannRoof #RoofTrial
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It's with pointing out that there was no resignation after #PhilandoCastile's death.
JUST IN: Minneapolis police chief resigns in wake of fatal shooting of bride-to-be abcn.ws/2uk6hvi
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.@sankofadotorg and @BushRenz just released a racial profiling PSA titled “Against the Wall.” Check it out: bit.ly/2dkEcx6
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